Defending champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will have his work cut out to book his spot in the third round at the US Open. The Spaniard trails Karen Khachanov 7-5, 5-all.
Hitting large and in charge, Khachanov is building off the momentum from a semi-final run at the Rogers Cup three weeks ago, where he pushed Nadal in a tight two-set affair. On Friday, the imposing ground game of the Russian is setting the tone behind 29 winners. Nadal did well to deny a trio of set points in the opener, but Khachanov would seize control and eventually claimed a set and a break lead.
Bidding to reach the Round of 16 at a third straight Grand Slam, Khachanov won his first set over a World No. 1 in his fifth such encounter. Continuing to blast away from the baseline, he would serve for a two-set lead at 5-4, but a dogged Nadal broke right back. The drama built as rain began to fall on Arthur Ashe Stadium, prompting tournament officials to close the roof. They are locked at 5-all.
Nadal has won 24 of his last 25 matches this year, but the Spaniard has struggled at this stage of the US Open recently. He succumbed to Fabio Fognini in the third round in 2015 and was forced to rally from a set down against Leonardo Mayer in 2017.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2N7xFs3
No comments:
Post a Comment